Hobbes: A Very Short Introduction

Richard Tuck

Description

Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) was the first great English political philosopher, and his book Leviathan was one of the first truly modern works of philosophy. Richard Tuck shows that while Hobbes may indeed have been an atheist, he was far from pessimistic about human nature, nor did he advocate totalitarianism. By locating him against the context of his age, we learn that Hobbes developed a theory of knowledge which rivaled that of Descartes in its importance for the formation of modern philosophy.

Hobbes: A Very Short Introduction

Richard Tuck

Table of Contents

Part I: Hobbes's life The life of a humanistThe life of a philosopherThe life of a hereticPart II: Hobbes's work ScienceEthicsPoliticsReligionPart III: Interpretations of Hobbes Hobbes as a modern natural law theoristHobbes as the demon of modernityHobbes as the social scientistHobbes as a moralistHobbes todayConclusion

Hobbes: A Very Short Introduction

Richard Tuck

Author Information

Richard Tuck is Professor of Government at Harvard University. He is the author of Natural Rights Theories (1979) and Philosophy and Government 1572-1651 (1993), and has produced editions of Hobbes's Leviathan and (with Michael Silverthorne) De Cive.